Prior General begins renewal visit to communities in Argentina

From April 1-28, 2025, the Prior General, Friar Miguel Ángel Hernández, will visit the six religious communities that make up the Vicariate of Argentina, which belongs to the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova. This visit of renewal is, in the words of the Prior General, “an opportunity to “recover the profound meaning of our existence”, to “live our consecrated life with greater authenticity” and “recover the charm and enthusiasm of our first love”.

In this Jubilee year, which celebrates one hundred years of Augustinian Recollect presence in Argentina, the visit takes on an even deeper meaning. It is not only a fraternal review of community life, but a call to look forward with hope, without losing the grateful memory of all that has been lived.

A century of dedication and evangelization

Since their arrival in 1925, when three courageous religious left Brazil and Spain to found the first communities in Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Rosario, the presence of the Augustinian Recollects has left an indelible mark on the Church in Argentina. They have founded parishes, schools, a seminary -that of Gandara, in 1939-, and have woven, with humility and perseverance, a network of pastoral, educational and missionary service that has accompanied generations.

Today, the communities are located in Buenos Aires (city and San Andrés), Rosario, Santa Fe and Mar del Plata. In each place, the work continues with the same spirit that moved the first ones: to proclaim the Gospel with the heart in God and the feet in the mud of reality.

What is the renewal visit?

According to the Constitutions of the Order, the purpose of this visitation is “to know the state of the community, to confirm more fully the religious life and the charity and union among the brothers, and to correct possible abuses” (Const. 464). It also reminds each religious of his vocation to imitate Mary, Mother of God, and to live his consecration with joy (Const. 78).

But beyond the norm, the deep desire of the Prior General is that these meetings be an experience of grace: “to fill with God all that we have been emptying of God”, “to get out of our comfort zone”, “to take seriously the radicality of the Gospel”. These are words that resound with force in a society that often pushes towards lukewarmness, forgetfulness of what is essential and lack of horizons.

A look with gratitude and hope

The renewal visit of the Prior General is part of the celebration of the centenary of the presence of the Order in Argentina “recognizing and thanking for a fruitful legacy and inviting to continue sowing”. It is, as the Prior General defines it, a time to “search with sincerity and determination for holiness”, that concrete holiness, woven day by day between classes, homilies, visits to the sick and community meetings.